Western suburbs taste great

Cheeky, cheap and excellent

Cheeky Chewies Cafe, 18 Aviation Road, Laverton. Phone: 9369 9913

We’ve been won over by this concept, particularly by West of Kin in Braybrook.

But there, the food is ambitious and the prices tend to reflect that.

At Cheeky Chewies, a bright new arrival in Laverton, the vibe is more everyday cafe, with asking prices to match – there’s nothing above $20 and most of the more hefty dishes clock in at about $16.

Actually, while Cheeky Chewies is self-described as offering “Asian fusion”, truth is this place is more about mixing, on the one hand, Western-style fare (a parma, fish and chips) with, on the other, pretty much straight-up Asian offerings.

Over two lunches on successive days, Bennie and I eat very well indeed, with only a couple of minor flat spots.

The service is top-notch and we like this place a lot.

On our first visit, we tackle a bunch of the “small dish” offerings listed on the menu (see below).

Chilli wontons (top photo, five for $10) are dynamite, the delicate casings housing a lovely pork mince filling, with both doing a lovely tango with the zingy vinegar chilli sauce.

“Super Crispy Chicken Wings” (four for $8.90) could more accurately be described as wingettes, but are excellent.

We were visiting a cousin in Hoppers Crossing on Sunday, and my sister decided the Laverton Market would be a good place to visit for a fun outing before that – so after none of the food offerings really took my fancy (although the sausage-place was later recommended to us – like you did), we checked out Cheeky Chewies – and I couldn’t go past the wontons and fried chicken after your photos, so I ordered those. VERY tasty. Michael got the Nasi Lemak and liked it, my sister got a thai salad, and the kid got sausage-and-chips, which was actually a good size for kids (but she was sold on the ‘toy’ before she even heard the menu). She was a bit surprised it was a hotdog not a bbq sausage, but she ate most of it, so that’s kinda miraculous in itself. Good tip, thanks Kenny!